Berkmann winds up successful Help 4 Hospitality scheme

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 11 August, 2020

Berkmann Wine Cellars has called time on its Help 4 Hospitality lockdown initiative, which has raised some £75,000 to help businesses in the hospitality sector weather the crisis.

Launched at the beginning of April, the online scheme attracted participation from 234 of Berkmann’s trade customers and gave vital funding to 780 individual venues.

Through the initiative, the London-based supplier gave participating outlets a unique voucher code to share with their mailing lists which offered the outlet’s customers a 5% discount on any orders they made. Berkmann then donated 12.5% of the order’s value to the bar or restaurant in question.

Provence rosé proved the most popular wine style for lockdown consumers buying through Help 4 Hospitality, with M de Minuty and Whispering Angel taking the number one and four slots respectively.

Portuguese wines were also surprisingly popular, with the Prunus Dão red and white and the Azahar Vinho Verde among the top 12 best-selling wines.

Alex Hunt MW, purchasing director at Berkmann, said: “Help 4 Hospitality demonstrated the enormous affection consumers have towards the on-trade, as well as the passion and charisma of those who work in the industry.

“Both these factors have led to business in the early stages of reopening being comfortably ahead of our forecasts.

“We would encourage everyone to head on out to their favourite venue, splash out on something special, and raise a glass to this industry that so profoundly enriches all our lives.”

Over 75% of Berkmann’s on-trade customers have resumed trading since restrictions were lifted on 4 July.

Bearing out the latest data from CGA, trading has been strongest in the South of England where Berkmann reports over 90% of its customers are now open again.

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